Brilliant Directories reviews

I have mostly positive things to say about BD.

I'm a former web dev so am used to getting elbow deep into code but for this project, I wanted something that works without a big learning curve. For my business, I realised that others in my niche (not necessarily the most tech-literate) were already using BD, which definitely helped persuade me to part with some money.

Second, the flexibility of BD is great, without it becoming overkill with options. Yes, the trade-off is that if you're a designer or developer, functionality or design may feel restrictive, but for something 'out of the box' that works and doesn't require eleventy-billion hours to setup and tweak, I'm not arguing. As a way of getting a project off the ground and running, it's great.

So, why 4 not 5 tacos?

I know customer service is inundated with AppSumo enquiries but I emailed with a very specific list of features I did want, along with particular questions. I got a relatively generic reply back, rather than something addressing my queries. Thankfully, the wording used in the reply gave me a hint as to what I actually needed to search the documentation for, and found it myself. However, had there not been comments about the quality of customer support, I might have been less inclined to purchase.

The other part of the taco deduction is that the sites can be slow. I noticed this when using two different BD sites prior to exploring the AppSumo offer. I haven't yet explored whether using CloudFlare or a similar service on top of BD would help solve this, but it's on my to do list, as if it catches my attention, it might also be noticed by my customers/clients.

Seriously, don’t miss out on Brilliant Directories! It’s a total game-changer if you’re looking to create a directory or membership site. Although the UI might feel a bit old-school, it’s loaded with features and tutorials that make everything pretty simple, even if you’re not tech-savvy. Plus, there are tons of support and other resources to help you out. It's a solid investment that can save you a lot of time and money. Don't let this one slip by!

Just getting started on the system and so far things are going smoothly. It is very easy to use and I cant wait to begin to see the return on my work.

The UI is great and simple to use and navigate. I have not checked out all the features yet but the basics meet my needs and what I was looking for. The price and was a steal and well worth it as long as you have the need and drive to build something.

Brilliant Directories is the platform I didn't even know I needed. I had a long-term goal of creating a directory one day, but I thought it'd take months (plus thousands of dollars in contractor fees) to make it happen. That's why I'm so grateful I found BD! Everything is conveniently located in one platform and you can get fully set up in little to no time. It's a great idea for a new business, or an excellent added revenue stream for existing businesses (which is what I'm doing).

I do wish there were a few more design features available so it'd perfectly match my branding, but I'm sure that'll come in time. This is a must-buy from AppSumo. I wouldn't miss the opportunity to grab it if I were you!

Imagine building a cool clubhouse with just a few Lego bricks, no big scary instructions, no missing pieces, and no Uhhhh oh, where did my door go?!….. And no oops I broke my site moments. That’s Brilliant Directories! It’s like magic :) you click a couple buttons, and poof your directory site is up and running in no time.

I remember how WordPress sometimes felt like a puzzle with a million tiny pieces and cranky updates? With Brilliant Directories, those worries vanish. I feel they have MY back hallelujah lol.

Now you get instant superpowers: built-in payments, fancy SEO tricks, and zero plugin drama all wrapped up in one shiny package. Set it up, take a nap, and wake up to your very own website playground, no stress, just fun!

By the way : I get that Brilliant Directories isn’t some cutting edge 2025 platform, and that’s fine. I’ve spent endless hours trying to save money by self-hosting a WordPress site on a shared server, only to stress over hackers, I wanted to hire someone to help update plugins and patch security holes, but I ended up doing it myself… In a way, that Lifetime Deal just means “you’re hiring someone forever.” Same goes for bandwidth fees, they’re normal on any site, and yes, CSS/HTML tweaks can break things if you DIY on shared hosting also anyway! And we all know you have to squash and optimize images or your pages drag and site will be slow. None of this surprises me, I’m a techy girl, after all!

As an SAP security girl, I grabbed Hide My WP Ghost LTD on AppSumo to protect my WordPress from bots and spammers. I spent countless hours tweaking it blocking so much that I even locked myself out and drove myself nuts. So honestly, Brilliant Directories feels like a cool breeze on my face and pure peace in my mind! My job is to grant access and manage security. I spent so many hours protecting my WordPress site and updating plugins that I’m more than happy to hand that task over to the Brilliant Directories team, Such a relief!!!

I Love it !!!!!! Plain and Simple

The Brilliant Directory is a powerful and user-friendly platform packed with powerful features. It makes launching a professional directory site incredibly easy.
Highly recommended for anyone looking to build a membership or directory site.

If you've ever wanted to launch your own directory site but didn’t want to mess with multiple plugins, custom code, manual updates and random freelancers, Brilliant Directories has you covered.

It’s like the Swiss Army knife for building membership sites, managing payments, and getting found on Google. It's easy to set up (there is an initial automated setup right from the start), it's flexible, and ready to help you start making money while you sleep, or at least I hope so ;-).

This product does everything i wanted for my local directory supporting small businesses. The customer service have absoluetly gone above and beyond to support me with some tech bits that I struggled with (my problem not theirs) - a massive thank you to Francella, who has provided an OUSTANDING service.

BD is very good when it comes to quickly setup and run the directory website. Provided you stay with English as your primary language it works well. I tried to setup a website in main language Polish and translations are terrible. In addition all location related imports from Instant Business Records (like district name, city name, state) are translated to English. I give it 5 tacos provided you stay with English interface for your visitors.

After looking through the reviews and seeing that the biggest negative mentioned again and again was the not-so-awesome mobile version, but that Brilliant Directories is already aware of this and is working on it, I decided to take the plunge. If that’s the worst that can be said about a product…

Well, that’s a pretty taco-licious product. 🌮

So, we’ve bought three copies at Tier 3. I have three wildly different ideas for directories that I’m excited to bring to life and just haven’t had a good program to use to make them happen.

I’m just now getting into the program and learning the ins and outs of it, but I’ve already been impressed by how smoothly everything works on the backend. You can tell that they’ve put a lot of thought into how BD works.

I’ll update this review if things change down the line, but count me a happy five 🌮 customer!

I have a directory.

It works, especially if you don’t want much and the demo site you can see in their videos more or less is what you think you want.

Also, if you want some functionality here and there you can then either beg along with 100 others who need it and wait for development to get it done, get into css/html to modify the site (with the risk next update breaks it) or pay a developer that will happily part you with your money…

The most important thing to learn however is this: While you’re not officially profit-sharing on the built-in Stripe payment thingy you WILL profit share as even on discount each GB of bandwidth per month costs 1$ US. Let that sink in… a dollar a month per gigabyte. Did it get through? Good! Now make sure to properly compress all images - and even offer a free service to your most popular clients to “upload for them” etc :)

So, all in all: Yeah you buy something of a good starter for a SaaS Directory Builder (designed for the 2000s) but be prepared to pay a developer for anything more than a basic functionality and design you already see working as you want and an ample amount of dollars for traffic - especially if your site is popular - which is the whole reason of making it anyways.

Then, there’s that 2000s website look and feel. Front end (meh but can be improved if you pay a dev) and back (no solution but to click all over the place and learn to search a LOT)… I mean… it needs an overhaul from some really experienced UX artist to say the least. You will certainly watch 30 hour long videos and seek advice every step of your “customization” for sure.

My proposal: If you’re techy/able, get a completely custom solution from a dev that knows his stuff. If you can’t/don’t want to dish out the cash in advance but still want to try your directory idea start with BD (or a WP plugin) and be ready to move fast if your business model is anything but moderate traffic aimed…

Ideal candidates for a BD site are probably those that sell pricey digital products (see specialty training for example) or are enough of a marketing gurus that can sell ice cubes to eskimos (local businesses). The first one has better (not cheaper) platforms and the later is almost over in 2025…

That was my 2c. Fair or not. Pick your poison and stick with it. I know I did.

@Jason Thank you for the fair reply - I will gladly come back and change my tacos if things improve from an LTD buyer's perspective (as this is the platform we're writing on).